History Main / MinstrelShows

* ''film/WhiteChristmas'' includes a minstrel show sequence as part of the ShowWithinAShow. The (white) performers are not in blackface.

* SpikeLee's 2000 film ''{{Bamboozled}}'' is about a black TV producer who creates a modern-day minstrel show.

* In ''Swanee River'' (1940), Al Jolson plays 19th-Century minstrel-man E.P. Christie, introducing the songs of Stephen Foster to America. Watch Jolson in blackface, with a whole minstrel troupe, singing "Oh Susanna," "Camptown Races," "Old Folks at Home/Swanee River" -- practically every song Foster ever wrote was meant to be sung by white men in blackface, dressed like clowns. (In the case of "Old Folks at Home" one can tell from the lyrics -- "Oh, darkies, how my heart grows weary." Never in American history did darkies typically address each other as "darkies," they used the n-word a lot but never "darkies," that's a word you'll scarcely find outside of minstrel-song lyrics.)

* The minstrel song "Jump Jim Crow" became so popular that it entered the popular vernacular of its time, mostly as a slur, and ultimately gave its name to the American [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws Jim Crows laws]].

* On ''MadMen'', Roger performs one at his wedding reception.

* Minstrel shows were the first uniquely American form of artistic expression. Like {{Vaudeville}} and {{Burlesque}}, they were were {{Variety Show}}s, featuring a mix of song, dance, sketch comedy and stand-up comedy. These forms combined with aspects of {{Operetta}} contributed to the development of American Musical Theater.
* The minstrel show was one of the few ways for ''actual black performers'' to be seen by a large audience. Sadly, they would also appear in {{blackface}} and often disguised the fact that they were actually black. There were, however, several famous black minstrel show performers.

* Sir Rodney Glossop appears in blackface to entertain his fiancee's young son in one of PGWodehouse's Literature/JeevesAndWooster novels.

* The minstrel song "Jump Jim Crow" became so popular that it entered the popular vernacular of its time, mostly as a slur, and ultimately gave its name to the American [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws Jim Crows laws]].

* GrandfatherClause

* ''Amos 'n' Andy'' ran from 1928 through 1955. Of course, this was a radio show and the blackface was merely implied; but it was implied very strongly, by the all-white performers putting on black-stereotype characters with their voices alone.

* "Dixie," likewise, originally was written (in the 1850s) as a minstrel-show number, and that's a blackface characer wishing (for whatever reason) he was in the land of cotton.

* ''Amos and Andy'' ran from 1928 through 1955. Of course, this was a radio show and the blackface was merely implied; but it was implied very strongly, by the all-white performers putting on black-stereotype characters with their voices alone.

* In ''Yes Mr. Bones'' (1951), a young boy finds himself in a home for retired minstrel-show acts, and there are flashbacks to the genre's glory days -- perhaps the most recent film where one can see a serious attempt to reconstruct such performances as they once were, played entirely straight for their own sake; and probably the last film made for which any living minstrel-show veterans were available.

* In ''Yes Mr. Bones'' (1951), a young boy finds himself in a home for retired minstrel-show acts, and there are flashbacks to the genre's glory days -- perhaps the only film where one can see a serious attempt to reconstruct such performances as they once were, played entirely straight for their own sake.

* In ''Swanee River'' (1940), Al Jolson plays 19th-Century minstrel-man E.P. Christie, introducing the songs of Stephen Foster to America. Watch Jolson in blackface, with a whole minstrel troupe, singing "Oh Susanna," "Camptown Races," "Old Folks at Home" -- practically every song Foster ever wrote was meant to be sung by white men in blackface, dressed like clowns.

Examples:

* Sir Rodney Glossop appears in blackface to entertain his fiancee's young son in one of PGWodehouse's Jeeves novels.

Tropes:

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* DelusionsOfEloquence
* GrandfatherClause

Minstrel Shows were a type of entertainment that originated before the AmericanCivilWar and continued to be popular throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. The show consisted of white performers appearing in {{blackface}}, often sitting in a semicircle on the stage and taking turns performing a variety of acts. The shows often had two emcees known as Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones. The shows were heavily based on mocking and lampooning stereotypical black culture, but the music was also taken seriously for its artistic merit.

Despite the ValuesDissonance of the basic premise, the Minstrel Show is significant for several reasons:

* Like {{Vaudeville}} and {{Burlesque}}, Minstrel Shows were a VarietyShow, featuring a mix of song, dance, sketch comedy and stand-up comedy. These forms combined with aspects of {{Operetta}} contributed to the development of American Musical Theater.

* The Minstrel Show was one of the few ways for ''actual black performers'' to be seen by a large audience. Sadly, they would also appear in {{blackface}} and often disguised the fact that they were actually black. There were, however, several famous black minstrel show performers.

* In TheJazzSinger, Al Jolson sings a song about his "Mammy" in blackface. It's the basis for all those [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment bizarre]] Bugs Bunny sketches where he suddenly dons blackface.

* ShlubbAndKlumpEnglish

Minstrel Shows were a type of entertainment that originated before the AmericanCivilWar and continued to be popular throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. The show consisted of white performers using burnt cork to blacken their faces and hands. The performers would sit in a semi circle on the stage and take turns performing a variety of acts. The shows often had two emcees known as Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones.

* The Minstrel Show was one of the few ways for ''actual black performers'' to be seen by a large audience. Sadly, they would also have to wear burnt cork and make their names Irish so that people would not know they were really black.

* The musical performance portions were initially white parodies of black music but eventually included the real thing.

* In TheJazzSinger, Al Jolson sings a song about his "Mammy" in black face. It's the basis for all those [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment bizarre]] Bugs Bunny sketches where he suddenly dons blackface.
* Bert Williams, the famous comedian signed by Florenz Ziegfeld for the Ziegfeld Follies was from the West Indies, yet performed in black face.
* Sir Rodney Glossop appears in black face to entertain his fiancee's young son in one of PGWodehouse's Jeeves novels.

* In TheJazzSinger, Al Jolson sings a some about his "Mammy" in black face. It's the basis for all those [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment bizarre]] Bugs Bunny sketches where he suddenly dons blackface.

* The Minstrel Show was one of the few ways for ''actual black performers'' to be seen by a large audience. Sadly, they would also have to wear burnt cork so that people would not know they were really black.

* There is a famous clip of Al Jolson singing "Mammy" in black face.